Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

You'd think that the smoke coming from my ears and nose would be a sure hint to my children NOT to aggravate me.  And if not, then for sure the wide, crazed eyes and the clenched teeth should tell them something.  Maybe I need to write an instruction manual: "How to read your Mama". You'd think after being hurt by or punished for something two times already, there wouldn't be a third.  What can I say? It appears that some children need more experiences than others to cement learning. You'd think that if I'm taking them to do something they enjoy, I wouldn't have to say scream four times: "Change and get in the car!"  Obviously what they are doing at the present time is more "funner" than any planned activity. You'd think that as an adult, I'd be better able to let go of the trials my children put me through and not let things fester.  I guess despite my advanced age, I still have some maturing to do. ...

If you don't, well I feel really, really incompetent right about now, because I do, but I do try really, really hard not to scream at the children.  This NY Times article, For Some Parents, Shouting Is the New Spanking, rang true for me. We don't spank, although I still use tools like 1-2-3 that " don't work to change behavior " in the words of one expert quoted in the article...Oh. In general, I have 2 triggers that put me over the edge: When Liam is not in good shape (either getting sick, sick or missed sleep) and Lucas insists it's a good time to "play" with Liam (that is, provoke him). My second trigger is described in the case of one mom interviewed for the article.  For this mom, like me, it is  " when adult peace is within her grasp ", that is, when the kids don't want to sleep.  I am so ready for time away from children...but then Liam delays brushing his teeth, or wants to try and use the potty (really?? now??) or doesn...

It has taken me a while to actually get around to putting up a picture despite having decided to liven up my blog some time ago. As you can tell, my personal goals fall by the wayside in the grand scheme of children. Anyways, you can see in the picture our two beautiful blessings in a rare moment when they aren't fighting or crying but, get this, playing co-operatively! Now that Liam is 18 months, Lucas has so much more fun "playing" with him, that is, ordering him to put dirty clothes away, spying on him, fighting with him etc. But I am not complaining, as long as neither one is crying it means that I don't have to be involved (and I can get on with my reading). On that subject, in my last post I talked about a book I was reading regarding discipline, (Taming the Spirited Child by Dr. Michael Popkin). I highly recommend this book even though I haven't read it completely yet. I mean, he says that the first thing that every parent should have is a timer....yes,...

Lucas isn't a bad kid, he is just a little high-spirited. At least that's the term I discovered in one of the books I am reading about discipline. Books are so wonderful for giving me ideas! (And sometimes that is even a good thing.) But back to Lucas. Compared to some of his friends, he seems to be...well, a little over-the-top. He is loud, super-enthusiastic and passionate about whatever it is he is doing. At least that is what I see. He is optimistic and positive. Maybe it is because when he is up he is so very very up, but when he is down...ohhh boy, his meltdowns are pretty impressive (and not in a good way). After finally making it past page 3 in the book, I actually discovered a point that made sense to me (books are funny that way). It talked about building the relationship with your child and one element of that should be fun - "a little every day". It occurred to me that over the last year, I was missing out on playing with Lucas consistently. I remembe...

We have discipline issues at our house. Lucas seems to have trouble listening to my words. I am not sure why (there could be so many reasons). I wonder if I talk so much he just ignores what I say (highly likely), or maybe we spend so much time together, he forgets I am the Mama and not the playmate? (This is much less likely - you can be sure I won't let him forget.) Time spent with Papa on the other hand is different, he minds what Papa says and what Papa wants. For sure we have different parenting styles. I will ask Lucas, "Why did you hit your brother?" Papa would just say "Stop hitting your brother." Do you think that may be it? I think I need some discipline coaching. So if you have any good tips, send them on. We go through these cycles with Lucas, great over a couple of months, then things start to deteriorate calling for a little "attitude adjustment". Usually it only requires a slight course correction, but that hasn't worked this ti...